I'm taking a break from economics/political stuff to learn about history.

Does this deserve an entire topic? I think so. I’m taking a break from learning about economics and politics to learn about history. I feel that my arguments are vastly inferior to many and that I have not yet fully developed my views on society, on, the world, and how things should be ran. I have an idea where I stand. I do see government as the cause of many evils. I just feel that I can’t really comprehend any argument put forth about economics, or, any argument put forth about politics, as well as others seem to. I mean- I can understand the theory, and, how a society would work under said theory- but only with that- and not further.

I feel that ignorance of history is no excuse. I’m taking a class right now and it’s turned my mind into more of a pacifist mindset. So, given that already- what I know about history- versus what I thought I knew- I know my whole mind frame will change if I read about history. I feel that I should probably should read more history before I look upon more serious economic stuff or more political theory.

I feel that before I read any of the great works, or, anything else, I should at least have a basic understanding of the historical reference, or, what the people are talking about. I feel completely ignorant about history, and, my lack of knowledge of it thereof. I just feel that I should more fully develop my views before I proceed further with this independent studying of mine that I am doing. Has anyone else here done what I’m doing? What kind of path do you recommend I take? I’m doing a bit of reading on my own… I just want to know where I should go. I feel that it would be meaningless to just grasp at straws and keep talking about theory without understanding how they would go in practice… with any society in general. I hope I’m not alone in having done this. Could I get some advice please as to what to do?

I know how you feel. Reading Kuenhelt-Lehddin really blew my mind in that respect. The bastard seemed to know everything that has ever happened. And the way he mentioned stuff, the implicit familiarity with which he spoke of even the most obscure events made me go wtf son, wtf.

Who says Mises and Rothbard and Austrian scholars don’t touch upon history?

Mises, it’s in all his writings.. Rothbard is the same… why not go read the History of Economic Thought.. Theory and History.. The History of Money in the United States… De Soto’s book… etc.

What do you mean you are having trouble understanding how it would go in practice? There is no seperation between theory and practice… it is fallacious.

If it is bad in theory, it is bad in practice. No two ways about it.

My experience with history courses (used to be a history major) is mostly negative. Everyone teacher I have had, without exception, has had a great grasp of the historical events, no denying that, yet they extrapolate often fallacious conclusions based on a lack of understanding of economics or philosophy. To truly understand history is to understand the relationship between events, not just memorize facts and dates. You cannot do this without an understanding of economics or philosophy.

I think economists would do well to know more history and historians would do well to know more economics. I just graduate with my history degree and would be happy to help find a period and place that interests you. Welcome to the field. History is a labor of love. Its even more labor intensive now that Thomas Woods keeps on pumping out book after book on American history.

Would anyone claim you shouldn’t know history? But if you wait until you’ve learned enough, you’ll be waiting an awfully long time.

History is to me the quintessential social science discipline of humanity. Without history essentially nothing would exist.

SilentXtarian,

At one point, I too decided I just didn’t know enough of history to understand what I was reading in the news and hearing in political discourse. K-12 and college in our times does a wretched job at providing a complete historical education. So I started on a history self-education campaign myself. I started with the beginning of history, ancient Sumer, and slowly worked forward until I had a complete outlne of western history in my head. Having such an outline in your head is an invaluable resource. But I am so glad I didn’t just focus on political, economic, and cultural history. Along the way, I also read about the history of thought. If you do that, you have the best of both world: learning theory in a chronological, narrative context. But now that I’ve been studying Austrian economics and Austro-libertarian political philosophy for a while, when I go back and re-read my old history books, it casts a whole new light on them, which I wish I had during my first go-round. I particularly I wish I had read at least Rothbard’s Anatomy of the State, Bastiat’s The Law, and de la Beoetie’s Discourse on Involuntary Servitude (all three of which are short and exceedingly enjoyable to read/listen to) before studying political history. And I wish I had listened to Rothbard’s introductory economics lessons a few times, before studying socio-economic history. So I wouldn’t recommend dropping your theoretical studies altogether. Also going back and forth between pure theory and history is a nice approach, because the mind tires of a monotonous diet. An introductory history reading list I might give to my past self would be:

Colin McEvedy’s Penguin Historical Atlases (They’re good reads, not just references).

Ancient Iraq by Georges Roux

Bill Manley’s Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt

The Archaeological Study Bible

The Bible as History

The Landmark Herodotus

The Landmark Thucydides (if you liked this, Xenophon and Arrian)

The Dream of Reason by Anthony Gottlieb (a history of ancient philosophy)

History of Rome by Cyril Robinson. (And if you get into it, go ahead and read Livy, then Polybius, then Tacitus)

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Tom Woods

Charlemagne: The Hammer and The Cross

The First Chapter of Rothbard’s Conceived in Liberty

The Medieval Machine by Jean Gimpel

A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman

John Lilburne: The First English Libertarian

The rest of Conceived in Liberty

Thomas Jefferson: His Life and Times

DiLorenzo’s Hamilton book

Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times

DiLorenzo’s Lincoln Books

By Murray Rothbard…

Gabriel Kolko

Bob Murphy’s PIG to the Depression and New Deal

There are details, links, and historical holes (especially in recent history) in the above list which I will fill in later, but I gotta run…